Traditional made new: Masala plantain chips

Like most people, I am at my most creative when stuck between a rock and a hard place. These tough situations are peppered with moments of clarity that, in this particular case, inspired this masala (Indian spice) plantain chips recipe. The story went this way: I was supposed to bring a plantain dish to a get-together, but the plantains I had were simply not ripe enough for what I had originally planned to make. I needed an easy green plantains recipe, and fast. That is when I remembered having masala french fries while in Kenya a few years ago. Frankly, I thought that dish was a soggy mess, the antithesis of what French fries are supposed to be like, but the idea was an interesting one. The problem with the masala french fries I had was that they were not crunchy at all, the frying technique was simply not there. Well, using green plantains instead of potatoes would go a long way towards avoiding that mushy fate. I had some garam masala handy at home (here is a recipe if you don’t: http://indianhealthyrecipes.com/punjabi-garam-masala-powder-recipe/) and decided to risk it. The end result was an interesting innovation, a case of traditional made new. The feelings it triggered resembled those you would have upon meeting an old friend who has completely changed their look, a mix of surprise, wonder and an eagerness to find out more, or in this case, to eat the all the chips!